Sins of the Fathers
by RenMacKree
Summary: Companion to Tale of Three Potters, a next generation Potter story from the eyes of Scorpius and Aleksandar
1. Chapter 1: The Train

Disclaimer; As much as I would love to say I own all the characters, situations and locations, I do not. J.K. Rowling is god. While we are keeping cannon in mind as we write these stories, we have taken several creative liberties. This is meant to be read with Tale of Three Potters by chibixbakura in order to get the full story. This story switches between Scorpius Malfoy and Aleksander Donchev, both who are living in the shadows of their fathers. So... here you go?

Sins of the Fathers

**Chapter 1**

**The Train**

Aleksandar opened his eyes as sunlight trickled from his bay windows. He groaned softly, turning over and throwing the comforter over his head.

"Master Aleksandar, Yana is be waking you. You is going to be late." Even in Bulgarian, the house elf had horrible grammar. He sighed and buried his head deeper in the pillow, trying to get a few more moments of sleep.

"Master Aleksandar!" She pulled the comforter off and began to shake the bed, trying to wake her master. He shot up, shooting her a glare that would have scared off anyone. Yana had lived with him since he was a child though, so she was used to his morning ritual.

"Master Yordan and Mistress Ilyia wish to see you off before you be going to school. They is waiting for you downstairs." He looked the house elf over, her wide blue eyes gazing at him unmoving.

"Fine, you vin." He muttered and he jumped out of bed, walking out of his room and down the stairs. He scratched his stomach as a yawn ripped through him. He wasn't ready for this, didn't feel like going down to see his parents. All he wanted was to curl up in his nice, soft bed and sleep. For a thousand years. He ran a hand through his thick black hair and paused as he caught sight of his reflection. His features were defined, chiseled jaw and cheek bones with sullen black eyes looked back at him. His hair was always in place and barely covered his eyes. Pulling his eyes away, he continued his way to the dining room.

"Aleksandar!" He cringed as his mother walked up and gave him a kiss on the forehead, which was no small feat. Aleksander was tall for his age and his mother was a little on the short side. She had to stand on her tip toes to even reach his chin and he bent the rest of the way down.

"Hallu Mother, how did you sleep?" He broke free of her kiss and went to grab a plate of Banitsa from the house elves. He sat down at the table and grunted in the direction of his father.

"Ah, Aleksandar. Nicola called this morning, he vas vundering if you vere still going to Hogvorts." His father folded up the paper he was reading and smiled over to his son. Alek sighed and picked at his food, his stomach suddenly feeling full of butterflies. _Not this conversation again._ He thought, gripping his fork tightly as his mother sat down.

"That Nicola, he is very good kid. You vould haff many friends at Durmstrang..."

"I do not VANT to go to Durmstrang, how many times do I haff to say it?" He pounded his fist on the table, closing his eyes in frustration.

"Your sister vent to Durmstrang." His mother said softly, casting her eyes down to the table. Aleksandar's throat tightened and his eyes shot open.

"Do not talk about Anastasiya like that, Ilyia. Aleksandar doesn't need to switch schools just because of her." His father returned to the paper after his piece, ignoring the rest of the family. Alek stood up, the table shaking from his sudden movement, and turned to walk back up the stairs. He didn't need to hear this again from his mother, his sister was just a bad memory. He paused outside of his room and slammed his fists into the hardwood frame.

Anastasiya had been seventeen when she fell from the cliffs by their house. Aleksandar remembered it like it was yesterday, the way her face was pulled in shock as she went over. They were arguing about which school he was going to, something silly now that he thought about it. She wanted him to go to Hogwarts, to get away from all the Dark Arts at Durmstrang and live a normal life away from their parents. He didn't understand why she was so emphatic about this, why she didn't want him to follow in his parents footsteps.

_"Don't be your father's son!"_ He pounded his fists once again and took a deep breath. What had she meant? He didn't feel like figuring out at this point in time so he opened the door and stepped in. Yana had set out his clothing for the day on the bed and his trunk was packed and waiting beside it. He grabbed the outfit, threw it on, and grabbed his wand sitting on the bureau. Walking to the fireplace, he turned around and saw his mother standing by the door frame.

"Vould you like me to come vith you?" She asked softly, as Yana carried the trunk to Aleksandar's side. The boy narrowed his eyes and sneered at her.

"No." The woman flinched as he grabbed a handful of Floo Powder, "Platform Nine and Three-Quarters." And with a flash of green flames, he was gone.

Ӝ

Aleksandar sighed deeply as he walked through the crowded platform towards the bright red train. His morning had been the best and wasn't looking forward to spending another year at Hogwarts. Yet, he smiled gently as he remembered the reason he kept coming back all these years: Severus. His best friend was one of the only reasons he refused to transfer to Durmstrang like his mother continuously pleaded.  
"Vell, looks like another Potter..." He muttered as he saw the little girl running from her parents to the train. Walking over to the now alone Potters, Aleksandar nodded curtly.  
"Hallu, Mr. and Mrs. Potter, How are you?" The two adults looked up and smiled gently at the dark haired boy.  
"Hello Aleksandar. Albus left already if you're looking for him." Harry said, smiling at the boy. Aleksandar nodded and bid good-bye, making his way to the train. Slowly he wandered through the train, looking for the tell-tale signs that Severus had been through. Catching a loud roar from a compartment, he turned and saw James walking into it with the other members of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team.  
"Severus vouldn't be in there..." he muttered and continued to search. Finally, he smiled and walked to the compartment where Severus was sitting.  
"Hello Severus." He smiled at the boy and sat down.

"Hey Alek, how was your summer?"

"Alright, not much to do but sit and read. Vat about you? Any..." he smiled slightly. "Fights?" He ran a hand through his black hair, eyes twinkling with suppressed laughter.

"If it's that boring I'll have to convince my parents to let me come and visit you." Alek smiled and leaned back against the seat. He knew that the fights were all his older brother, James' fault.

"Yeah, and I normally won if they turned physical, he really does suck in good old fist fights," Alek nodded and sat in silence as Severus rambled. Alek himself wasn't a big talker he preferred to listen and watch, which was probably why Severus was his best friend. The boy never got enough attention at home, and though he wouldn't say it out loud, Alek knew Severus wanted to prove himself. Why else would he be in Slytherin?  
"Vell, hopefully you can visit in spring break. Mother vas hoping to meet you." He smiled as the train lurched softly.

"I like that idea. I'll just tell my parents that's what I'm going to do. I'm sure they can't say so if I give them this much notice on it," Alek heard the door open and saw a girl with long red hair and green eyes enter there compartment.

"Why hello Severus, and you must be the oh-so famous Aleksandar. Severus talks about you a lot. I'm his cousin Rose." she smiled at Alek and he smiled at back, offering his hand.  
"Yes, it is nice to meet you. Severus talks of you often as vell." He turned to Severus and then back to Rose. Everyone knew about Rose, Mina, and Anna. The three Gryffindor girls had been sneaking into the Forbidden Forest and one night they had ran into... He didn't know exactly what happened, but he knew that Anna had been killed by a Mountain Troll. Alek had caught a glimpse of the poor girl's body as they brought her into the school, limbs torn from her cold torso. That was something he hoped he would never have to see again.  
"Vould you like to set here? I am sure Severus vould not mind the company of his cousin."

"It's nice to see you Rose." Severus looked a bit off and Alek made a metal note to watch and see if Rose became too much. She sat down quickly and then turned on Severus.

"Why didn't you help Lily out? I saw her and she looked almost as nervous as Hugo always is. I hope you weren't betting on James to be nice enough to do anything. That twit only cares about snoging and Quidditch." Severus bristled in his seat, clearly he had expected his older brother to be a better mentor to Lily. Obviously his faith was misplaced.

"I did think James would help her,"

"Oh yeah I had an idea to get under his skin! I'll join the Quidditch team just to piss him off!" she said laughing at her idea.

"And you're planning on trying out for the Quidditch team? I wish you luck. The Gryffindor team is rather good, and normally can beat half the other teams." Alek smirked. He was the Slytherin Seeker and had never lost a game. The second best Seeker was James, but he was a long way from ever beating him. He had been personally trained by Viktor Krum since he was five and he was already picked to take over as Seeker for the Bulgarian National Quidditch Team.

"I'll be a beater." Alek looked at Severus and tilted his head. Because he was one of Severus only friends, he knew the boy was being curt on purpose.  
"Rose, vill you be going to Hogsmead this year as vell?" He didn't know how old she was, but anything to get the subject off of Severus' apparently bad mood. He closed his eyes and leaned back against the seat. He didn't mind the idle chatter nor the soft clicking of the train against the track. He didn't mind Severus carrying the conversation completely, in fact the less he said the better. Alek was a little self conscious about his accent, what with him being the only international student attending Hogwarts at this time, and while he enjoyed being an individual it would have been nice to speak his native tongue.  
"If only I was british " He muttered, opening his eyes and looking up at the two cousins as Rose stood.

"Well I'm going to go harass someone else, and maybe try to sell some of Uncle George's goodies. Hopefully the candy lady doesn't see me." And with that, she disappeared into the hall. Severus looked confused, but then he smiled and began the conversation again.

"Are you excited for the school year? I am. I'm sure you'll be winning Slytherin every Quidditch match this year too." Alek looked over to his friend and smiled lightly.  
"Vell, I loff Quidditch and beating your brother is vun of the joys of school. So as long as they haffen't gotten better, I vill haff a good year." He settled back in the seat and grinned wildly. "Of course, there vill be no hope if James is still seeker." Laughter rang from him as he finished his speech and nudged Severus in the ribs gently. Severus laughed as well,

"Well, I know for a fact James is still the seeker. It's not like he's ever going to be off that team. I think he's convinced himself that he's going to beat you this year." That wasn't going to happen though.  
"Vat of you? Fancy being in Quidditch this year?" He knew the answer to this; no. Yet he still wanted to ask, having his best friend on the team would be amazing. Severus was a watcher though, and if he joined the team he would have to play against his cousins. There were some of his cousins on the Slytherin team, Roxanne and Dominique, but they were a little too stuck up for their own good. They might ruin him.

"No, that isn't my thing. I rather just watch you out there than be out there myself. Besides, you always win so fast there wouldn't be much for me to do," he added. Alek nodded and leaned back again. He knew something was going to happen, he could feel it in his bones.  
"I vill be back, must use the room of rest." He stood up and walked out of the compartment, closing the door behind him. Turning in the opposite direction, he wandered down the halls of the train. Girls waved at him from every house and invited him to sit down with them. Smiling politely he declined, but he did give them a small wink as he passed. He was on a mission, he had to talk to James. Severus must be safe this year. Finally he reached the cart with the Quidditch team and knocked softly.  
"James Potter, I must talk vith you." The boy looked up and sighed as he stood up, assuring his friends he would be right back. The moment he was out of cart, and had the door shut, he spoke quickly and in a harsh, hushed voice,

"Something better have happened to Albus or you better have a good reason to be bothering me right now." Alek looked over the boy, his eyes flashing dangerously.  
"You vill not speak to me that vay, pretty boy. I vas trying to get off on the right foot, but if I haff to I vill make this personal." He growled as he pushed James up against the wall, pulling out his wand and pointing it to the boy's throat.

"No, you vill listen to me. You must be vigilant this year, all of your family is here and there are still... people who vould like to see you dead because of your name. Severus is smart to fear his name, and it vould do you vell to hide it as vell. There is a storm coming, I can sense it." He pulled back and let James drop, scoffing at the boy. He turned to walk away but then leaned down and looked James in the eye.  
"Good luck vith Quidditch this year, hope you haff a better team." And with that, he walked back in the direction of Severus. He knew it was stupid, but he just wanted to get the boy back for torturing Severus over the summer.  
"Don't mess vith me." he muttered as he walked back into the compartment. Severus looked up from his potions book and titled his head in confusion.

"Did something happen while you were out?" Alek scoffed as he sat back down in the compartment, crossing his legs.  
"Just James, he vas in my way." He looked out the window and left the topic at that. Severus frowned.

"I'm sorry James is a jerk." Alek smiled, albeit briefly. He knew Severus was the better brother and even though it was pointless, was trying to apologize for James. From his window, he could see the shadowed grounds of Hogwarts castle coming into view. The moon was bright and outlined every tower of the stone building making it seem darker than the actual masonry was.  
"We should get our robes on soon." Alek nodded and slipped his white shirt on. As he buttoned it up his shirt he noticed the fabric stretching just a little too much around his arms. He ground his teeth in frustration. All summer he had been training with Viktor Krum and had forgotten to go to Diagon Alley and pick up a new uniform.  
"I vill haff to pick up a new shirt at Gladrags." he muttered, tightening his tie and throwing his robe over the too tight shirt.

"If I remember correctly, it shouldn't be that long before we'll get a chance to go," Alek shrugged and looked out the window as the train stopped. Severus made no move to exit and while he would have liked to get it done and over with, he had to agree with Severus. Crowds were annoying. He flopped down in the seat once again and looked out the window at the dark paths leading up to the castle.  
"Vat do you think about that girl?" He asked, nodding to a short blonde in pigtails giggling with her friends. Alek knew there was little chance of Severus actually looking, but he was curious to see what the boy's type was. Even though they were thirteen, his mother always said,  
_"In Bulgaria, you are a man at eleven." _He chuckled and remembered his first kiss, stolen at a party in Bulgaria. He didn't even know her name and it didn't really matter. All that mattered was that she was pretty and he never saw her again.

"I'm sure she's nice," Severus said, breaking through Alek's memories. Both boys looked out into the hall again, checking to see if it was alright for them to leave.

"It's not so bad now, we could go. As much as I want to avoid the crowds, I don't want to be late." Alek stood up and nodded softly.  
"Vill you sit by me on the carriage?" It's not that he was worried about being alone, it was just common courtesy to ask before making plans.

"Of course I will," he smiled and they walked off the train, Severus with his owl in tow "I hope we don't have a lot of first years, or at least that it doesn't take forever to go through all of them," They weaved their way through the thinning crowd of students towards the giant Thestral-drawn carriages. He knew Severus couldn't see them, only a person who had seen death first hand could have seen the giant horse like creatures that drew them. Alek had seen them since the day he arrived and a shiver still passed through him every time.  
"Look, there is vun." They walked towards the carriage, noticing the two Slytherin seventh years already sitting in it. Severus got in and they scowled at him, much to Alek's displeasure. Alek walked into the carriage and nodded to the other people.  
"Hallu, how are you Zambini and Farth?" He recognized the two, Dalin Zambini was captain of the Quidditch team and was a fair beater when they actually needed him. Gregory Farth was just your typical Slytherin; crabby, stuck up, and less than average intelligence. He sighed and scooted closer to Severus.  
"Let's try to ignore then, yah?" Severus nodded and turned to look out the window of the carriage. Alek followed suit and ignored the others quiet effectively. Until they began to chat, simple little things, but Alek could tell it would get to Severus so he groaned softly.  
"Severus, Vill you so please as to not talk? My head is hurting, and same as to you both please." He really didn't have a headache, but Severus looked as if he didn't want to talk to the other two boys. Alek was willing to make himself an excuse to spare his friend from pain. He looked out as they passed the lake, hoping that there was shepherds pie at the feast. Soon enough they had made it up to the school. Severus got out and waited for Alek before he did anything else.

"Do you need something for your headache?" He shook his head and smiled at Severus.  
"Do not vorry for me, my friend, I vill be fine as long as you are there." Walking through the doors of the Great Hall, he slouched to the Slytherin table taking a seat as far away from the front table as possible. He made sure there was enough room between them and the conniving Slytherin crew as Severus sat next to him and they waited patiently for the ceremony to begin.


	2. Chapter 2: A Snake in Lion Skin

**Chapter 2**

**A Snake in Lion Skin**

Scorpius smiled at Lily as they all walked out of the compartment. Avania grabbed Hugo and Lily by their arms and linked hers through.

"Scorpius, join our chain." He gave her a wary look, but linked his arm with Lily. As soon as all four were connected, they skipped through the platform towards a man that was nearly a story tall. Scorpius' eyes widened in shock as the man's booming voice echoed over the platform.

"First years! First years over here!" To his surprise, Avania lead them directly up to him and gave a large grin in his direction.

"Hello Hagrid, pleasant to see you again." She said sweetly as he swung a lantern over their faces.

"Why, 'ello there Avania. Lily, Hugo." He nodded towards the others, a smile breaking over his wide face.

"Hi Hagrid!" Hugo said, smiling up at the huge man.

"Hello Hagrid!" Lily replied, her face beaming in anticipation. The giant smiled and directed them towards the boats tied up on the moor.

"Ya'll be knowing where to go, eh?"He walked away and tried to coax other first years to follow him. Scorpius hesitated at the dock, he was more than a little afraid of the idea of a boat ride. But, since Avania knew what she was doing and he trusted his new friends more than his father would have liked, he went along with it. Taking a tentative step into the wobbling boat, he situated himself near the back next to Lily. Hugo and Avania sat in front of them and rocked the boat as they settles down on the wooden benches.  
"Lily, are you excited for the sorting ceremony?" he muttered softly, keeping his mind preoccupied. The girl was ecstatic. Looking around at all the people and boats, she could barely sit still. This made the boat rock a little more than Scorpius would have liked and he griped the side of the boat tight until his knuckles had turned ghostly white.

"I am excited. I hope we both get into Gryffindor," she said, finally answering his question. Avania had snuggled closer to Hugo, leaning up against him and turning so everyone in the boat could hear her.

"If we sit very still, we might get pushed by the Giant Squid. I heard he likes to mess with boats." Scorpius gripped the side of the boat tighter. It wasn't that he was afraid of water, but that huge amount of liquid was just asking to curl up and destroy him. He hadn't always been afraid of large bodies of water, but when Grandfather Lucius took him up to the Malfoy Cabin in Scotland he learned where his father got his talents.

He remembered the large boat they used to take out into the middle of the lake; the smooth wood freshly polished by the house elves that smelled faintly of cherries, the gleaming stern that caught every ray of sunlight, the small platform that he sat down on to gaze at the murky surface. He remembered the way the water would lap against his feet if he dangled them off the side. He had been seven at the time, Grandfather had stolen him away so his parents could attend a social gathering, some pure-blood club or what-not. Scorpius didn't think to ask, nor did he care as long as he was away from Daddy.

_"Scorpius, I would be careful if I were you. These waters aren't completely uninhabited."_ His Grandfather's words were lost as he was pulled down into the murky water, something gripping his tightly. He couldn't escape, could barely keep his head above the water.

_"Grandfather!"_ He shouted, hands begging to be grabbed and pulled to safty.

_ "Fight them off yourself. Don't be weak, you're a Malfoy for god's sake."_ He could feel the water pressing in on him as the thing pulled him deeper into the water. He couldn't remember if it was minuets or seconds after he fainted that a large hand came down and grabbed him by the hair. He was hauled up to the boat, coughing and sputtering.

_"Worthless. What a worthless boy."_ That was the first time Grandfather Lucius looked at him in disgust, and he always had since.

He grabbed Lily's hand and squeezed his eyes shut, hoping Avania was wrong and that the Squid would just leave them alone.

"It's okay," she said softly, "I'm a good swimmer. If something happens I'll make sure you won't drown," she smiled at him. He nodded, but still tightened his grip on her hand.  
"I'm not afraid of swimming, just afraid of the monsters in the lake." He looked off to the murky water and heard the gruff voice.  
"All right, yer ready ta go! Everyone stick tight ta the center of the boat and ye'll be fine." Taking a deep breath, Scorpius closed his eyes and curled down small.  
"It'll be okay. It'll be okay..." he muttered softly to himself, ignoring the sudden jerking motion of the boats being magically rowed through the glassy surface of the lake.

"If Scorpius and Lily are holding hands, we should too. It must be a first year tradition!" Scorpius looked up as Avania said his name, but quickly ducked down again as the motion of the boat shifted again.

"Oh, you're afraid of the monsters?" Lily asked. He nodded helplessly, trying to ignore the sounds of the waves crashing against the stern.

"See, my older brothers are over there. I'm sure if we got attacked they'd come over and save us. I'm sure I can do something until they get over here too, so there's nothing to worry about at all!" He nodded, nothing else he could do. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Avania turned around (a motion which cause Scorpius to whimper in fear), and smiled.

"Look, look! The lights are shinning for us! I wonder if there will be pudding... I do so love pudding..."

"Ooo pudding... I'm so hungry, I could eat a dragon!" Hugo chuckled as the booming voice of Hagrid once again broke over the surface of the lake.

"A'wight, first years! Watcha step, come on!" Scorpius looked up and smiled, the boats had landed and they weren't eaten by monsters. He turned to Lily, his face now in a look of joy.  
"Come on! It's time to get sorted!" He jumped up and pulled her to her feet, tripping and nearly falling on to the floor.  
"Watch it!" A voice said, and Scorpius looked up into the blue eyes of Lynx Nott.

"Malfoy." He stated bluntly. A girl walked up and Scorpius recognized her at once as Lynx's twin sister, Lyra. Both twins had short brow hair that curled just below the ear and piercing blue eyes that looked like they were carved from ice.  
"Notts." Scorpius replied, puffing his chest up and bit and shooting them a cold look. His grip loosened on Lily's hand and he brushed off his shoulders. "Might want to look where you're going next time. It doesn't suit you to be wandering around with your nose to the ground." His eyes glinted with malice and the twins turned to walk away. When they were a safe distance, he let go of the breath he was holding and smiled back at Lily.  
"Let's go before Avania eats all the pudding." She smiled and nodded to Scorpius.

"Right, let's go. I don't really mind if Avania eats all the pudding, I don't like it that much. I can't wait to be sorted though! It's going to be great!" she said brightly, starting to pull Scorpius along with her, following the other first years. He smiled and followed her up to the castle doors, Hagrid slowly stomping up in front.  
"Yes, sorting..." He trailed off and watched as the doors swung open and all the first years were ushered into the warm hall right outside the Great Hall. They were pushed forwards and slowly walked towards the front of the Hall, waiting in the warm room and surrounded by their peers. Scorpius looked to the front of the room where an elderly man stood holding a stool. Soon, after every first year had been pushed forward, he placed the stool down and placed a hat on it. The hat was old and ragged, stitched and patched throughout the years. Scorpius leaned forward and stood agape; The Sorting Hat. No sooner had he thought it, then the hat opened at one of the seams, burst open, and it began to sing:

_Long, long ago four strangers met on a voyage from the sea.  
Of face and mind, of heart and soul, they were different as can be.  
Discovered they, a common thread that would bind them to each other.  
They'd share their gifts with sorcerers; guide as sister and as brother.  
"A wondrous thought," said Ravenclaw. "We will build a school to teach."  
"But where on earth," asked Hufflepuff, "is from Muggles, out of reach?"  
Twas Gryffindor who felled the land from the mountain to the falls.  
And Slytherin who found the gold used to build these very walls.  
Said he, "Pure-blood lines set the mark of the greatest whom shall enter."  
But Gryffindor was Muggle born; Thus was sewn the seed of winter.  
Four strangers, all became best friends; merged talent in unity.  
Yet split the one school into four so that one might best the three.  
In one was placed the diligent. One took the brightest minds.  
Another took the brave at heart. The last sought pure-blood lines.  
Each one searched for the perfect path so to make their students best.  
Yet, the greatest trait had sunk too low like a red sun in the west.  
Lost inside was love and friendship, which bound them on ship at sea.  
Together they held then power- bringing life, and energy.  
Too soon, the seed had grown it seemed of enmity and despair.  
When stunning spells and curses too began flying through the air.  
Each, alone, without the other fought to stop the inner war.  
But each, alone, had lost the trait, which would bring us peace once more.  
The greatest fight the age has seen saw the closest of them all,  
turn wand on wand before the school. Twas then we began the fall.  
Slytherin fought his finest friend to prove that he was right.  
Though, both his heart and hapless soul were screaming for the light.  
Gryffindor dropped his wand and turned, but the serpent struck his back.  
And thus was drawn the golden sword so to fend off the attack.  
He raised the blade high in the air and there its head did hew.  
And ignorance and enmity laid bare for all to view.  
The friendship of the sword and snake was severed that dark day,  
until it is renewed again to save us from the fray.  
The battle rages on you see, and reaps a bitter cost.  
In you the challenge lies within to find the trait once lost.  
If soon you don't find unity within this grand estate,  
the enemy will win unchecked, and doom you to his fate.  
There, now you know all that's been said. For I've warned you once before.  
Perhaps too late I truly feared as I saw you breech the door.  
New Students! Come and gird yourselves for the challenge deep within.  
I'll send you to the proper house. Let the sorting now begin!_

Scorpius held his breath as the elder man pulled a long scroll out of his sleeve.  
"When I call your name, you will sit down and have the Sorting Hat placed on your head. When your house is announced, please walk to your respective table and wait for the end of the sorting." He announced, peering over his glasses to see if anyone was misbehaving. Everyone was too nervous to move let alone misbehave. "Adolt, May." He called and a young girl with short blonde ringlets stumbled up to the stage. She sat on the tiny school, amidst the incredible silence and soon her frightened face was hidden from view. Scorpius let go of the breath he was holding when the hat called "Ravenclaw" for the entire hall to hear. The hall clapped again, the table on the left were hysterical with applause. The girl got up and bolted for the black and blue table. Once the Hall had calmed down Professor Emile continued. Jerilynn Amberson was the first Hufflepuff, followed by Dylan Azar who was a Ravenclaw. Jackson Bill was a Slytherin as was Courtney Cab. A few more people went up and each was sorted, the crowd clapping furiously every time. Scorpius felt his heart beat quicken as Patricia Calin became a Ravenclaw.  
"I don't think I can make it till the M's..." He muttered to Lily, his eyes wavering over the crowd of thinning first years. Dolt, Effering, Greors, Highland, Jenkins, Kali...

"Longbottom, Avania." Avania walked up, her face a little red and she seemed a bit nervous._ Please be okay, please, please, please, let me make it through this_ Scorpius thought as the hat called out "Hufflepuff!" for Avania. He smiled and clapped as she jumped down and ran to her table. She beamed over at his and then up at the staff table to her parents.

"Don't be so nervous," Lily whispered to him. "They're almost at the M's, and you're Ma so you're well in the front of the M's at least..." He took a deep breath and smiled nervously, but she continued.

"Just tell the hat you want to get into Gryffindor. My dad told me that it takes your wants into consideration when making its choice." He smiled at her and returned to his silent pleading.  
"Malfoy, Scorpius." The hall fell silent as the blonde gulped, walking towards the stool that seemed so much bigger now. He didn't want to be sorted, he didn't want to be a disappointment! ___I can't do this... I can't do this I can't_  
******Hello, Mr. Malfoy **Scorpius paused. The Sorting Hat, which had been placed on his head while he was preoccupied, had just spoken to him.  
___Uh, hello?_  
******I've never had the pleasure of picking through your family's brains. I find it rather invigorating**  
___Uh... Thank you?_  
******Obviously not a Ravencalw, your lack of vocabulary is stunning.**  
___Hey! I have a very extensive vocabulary, I just choose to use it when the mood strikes me. You, being a hat, are obviously not worth too many of them._  
******Definitely not Hufflepuff either, your brain isn't as deep as I first thought.**  
___HEY! I have deep thoughts too! I'm just..._  
******Nervous? Don't be, I'm just going to decide what you're going to be for the rest of your life.**  
___Yesh, that's makes me feel SO much better_  
******You're quite rude, you know. It's a very Slytherin characteristic.**  
___NO._  
******Why not? Your entire family line has been in the fine house of Slytherin, why break the family tradition?**  
___Because I want to PROVE I'm different than them. I want to make something with my life and not just spring board off the wealth of my family._  
******So wouldn't you want to be in Slytherin? To prove that not all Slytherins are as bad as everyone says?**  
___You know, for an enchanted article of clothing that is supposedly all knowing, you can't take a hint very well._  
******Ah yes, the famous Malfoy charm once again astounds me. My offer still stands, Slytherin would be the place for you.**  
___No. I will not._  
******Very well. GRYFFINDOR!**

****Scorpius felt the hat being taken off and he looked around the stunned hall. Suddenly an uproar came from the table in the middle and the gold and red clad students burst into applause. Looking over to the silver and green table, he saw one loan student standing in applause for him. Smiling, he walked to the table and took a seat next to the other first years. He watched as the Nott twins were placed in Slytherin and some girl named Noviam was put in Ravenclaw.

"Potter, Lily." He crossed his fingers as she walked up and sat on the stool. The sorting hat had barely brushed her hair when it yelled "GRYFFINDOR!" Happy, she made her way to the Gryffindor table.

"Congratulations," she said to Scorpius as she sat down next to him. Her smile could have lit up the Great Hall it was so wide. He leaned over and gave her a small hug before pulling back.  
"Thanks, without you I would have been a wreck..." he trailed off as they listened to more names being called until finally,

"Weasley, Hugo." The boy walked up and sat down, the hat placed on his head. After a few moments of consideration, the hat shouted "HUFFLEPUFF!" and the yellow table erupted in cheers. When Rodrick Zambini had been sorted into Slytherin, the stool and hat were taken down and the elder man sat back at the staff table. The hall slowly grew loud again until Headmistress McGonagall stood up and raised her hands to calm the room down.  
"Welcome back, to another year of school." She paused as most of the students erupted in cheers and applause. "For some of you, this is your last year with us and others you have just walked through our hallowed halls for the first time. Welcome, welcome, welcome." She smiled over them and then turned to face the elderly man who had taken the stool and sorting hat down once again. Now I am sorry to say that there will be no Quidditch this year." The hall erupted in cries of pain, mostly coming from the Gryffindor table.  
"But something else has graced our hallow halls this year, though it was highly fought against." She shot a look to the staff table and then quickly returned to her speech. "Our school will once again play host to the TriWizard Tournament!" Wild roars and cheers once again rang through the halls as students and teachers alike stood in celebration. "Like years before, there will be students visiting from other Wizarding Schools. This year, the lovely students of Beauxbatons Academy of Magic and Durmstrang Institute will once again be gracing us with their presence. Three Selected Champions compete in three tasks designed to test magical ability, intelligence and courage. Champions compete for the honour and glory of winning the Tournament, and the prize for the victor is the Triwizard Cup and a monetary prize. However, the Tournament is extremely dangerous, and Champions have died while competing." The hall fell silent as Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and moved her eyes over the hall.  
"But let us not dwell on the misfortunes of the past, let us enjoy what we have here and Cena!"  
As soon as the word 'Cena' left her mouth, the empty plates and goblets filled with food and drink. Scorpius smiled and dug into a large pot of Shepherds Pie, loading his plate with the steaming food.  
"I'm really excited! Do you think there will be a lot of new students wandering around?" He nudged Lily and grinned wildly through his full mouth.

"I think there would be," Lily replied, filling her own plate and mouth with the hot food. Scorpius was so relieved to be in Gryffindor his heart was dong summer-salts. Looking down the table, he noticed a rather large group of older students talking and laughing. One was tall with dark hair, and looked to be the leader of the Quidditch pack. Scorpius felt his stomach lurch and quickly shoved another mouthful of food down his throat.  
"Hey Lily, is that guy the Seeker?" Scorpius loved flying, but unlike his father he hated the Snitch. The little ball buzzing around and taunting you to come chase it into the unknown sounded more like a muggle book than an appeasing position. He personally preferred to block balls as a Keeper, but his father would have none of that. So he would practice by the moonlight in secret. The thrill of being out late was what really got his blood boiling and he loved that feeling.

"Oh, that's my big brother James," she said with a nod, "and he is the seeker. He says he's really good at it too! I was looking forward to seeing him play, but I guess it'll have to wait until next year because of the tournament." Scorpius' eye widened and he turned back to look at James. Brown hair fell in his face as he laughed and ate with the Quidditch team, gray eyes flashing through the hall as he turned to the girl on his right.  
"Is that so? Too bad I can't see him in action... I love Quidditch." He squirmed in his seat, blushing slightly. It wasn't that he was embarrassed, he was just a little nervous. About what he couldn't say exactly, but he turned back to Lily all the same.

"I'm sure they'll still do practices for Quidditch. I'm sure if you ask, James would let you watch. He let me watch him practice some over the summer," she explained. Scorpius nodded and moved back to his food. He really wanted to watch Quidditch, especially if James was the best Seeker in the school.  
"Do you think he would mind that?" He muttered as he glanced back to the boy. Shaking his head, he smiled at her and changed the subject.  
"You have another brother right? Is he on the Quidditch team too?" He looked over the large table for someone else that looked vaguely like a Potter. Seeing none he moved on to the Ravenclaw table, then the Hufflepuff. When he finally turned around to look at the Slytherin table, he saw the dark headed boy who had stood up for his sorting and a light haired boy who looked like his friend. He looked like Lily, but he highly doubted a Potter would be in Slytherin, that would be as unlikely as...___as a Malfoy in Gryffindor. _He thought smugly as he ladled the pie into his mouth.

"That's my other brother. His name is Albus. No, he likes to be called Severus. I keep forgetting that. He's in Slytherin, but he's not on their Quidditch team," she explained. Then she smiled and said

"I'm sure James would let you. I'll even ask him to let you watch when I get a chance to talk with him. Are you planning on trying out for the team? I don't know if they're going to have try outs this year or not, since there's no games, but I know at least one of them is in their last year." Scorpius shrugged, he would love to try out for the team, but would a first year even be allowed? Sighing he looked back at James and made up his mind. As soon as they were dismissed, he was going to introduce himself. He smiled at Lily and was about to say something when Professor McGonagall stood up and the hall quieted once again.  
"Prefects, lead the first years back to their dormitories. We hope to see you all bright and early for classes tomorrow! Now off to bed!" Scorpius was giddy.  
"Lily, I'll be back." He gave her a quick hug and ran up to James, sticking out his hand.  
"I'm Scorpius, Lily's friend. I'm hoping we can be friends too." He grinned to seal the deal, hoping the older boy was as nice as his sister. James sighed and turned around to look at Scorpius. "Look kid, I don't have time to chit chat, why don't you go and talk with the other little first years?" His face was pulled in an annoyed look and he rolled his eyes in frustration. Scorpius looked taken aback. This boy was Lily's older brother? The one she said was nice? He straightened his back to his full height, which was almost equal to James and fixed him with a cold, gray eyed stare he usually reserved for his father's friends.  
"I'm sorry, I thought I was talking to the best Seeker at Hogwarts." He turned and then looked over his shoulder, fixing his mouth into the famous Malfoy sneer. "And my name is Scorpius Malfoy, not 'kid.' I would call me by it if you know what's good for you." And with that, he walked for the door, oblivious to the direction he was supposed to be going in. Yet he didn't care, he was angry. Mostly he was mad at himself, he hated being aloof especially when it ended with the Malfoy sneer. He may have picked up his fathers looks, but he didn't want to ******BE **his father.  
"Damn it." He looked around the empty hall, completely lost and a little afraid. Silently he took a seat on a window ledge and curled up with his forehead placed against the window pane. As soon as he closed his eyes, memories of his father flooded his mind. His father always raved about blood lines and purity complexes and who little Scorpius should date or play with. His mother hadn't been any help, always getting drunk and flopping around the house ordering the elves around. His childhood was mostly his father bossing him around or making him repeat silly lines like ___Only the Pure Survive_.

When he was a year old, his father expected him to know every password to the house, even the ones to the kitchen and his own bedroom. If he forgot them, he would have to sleep in the hall or eat with the house elves in the slave quarters.

On his third birthday, he was given a book on dark magic by his grandfather, who had written the words, _Semper Infirmus Necate_ which meant _Always Kill the Weak._

But the worst was his father's form of punishment.

___Crucio__._

Once when he was five, Scorpius had brought home a bird who's wing was broken. He cared for the bird, taking extreme care to bring it back to picture perfect health until the day it could finally fly. That day, he was about to release it when his father walked into the room.  
___"Well, well, Scorpius. Why is there a dirty thing in this house?"_

It wasn't dirty, it was his Delilah. But when he told his father this, the man just laughed.  
___"She is dirty, dirty things must be taken care of. Kill it."_

No.

___"Kill it now, Scorpius"_

******NO**

_**"**__****__**KILL IT OR I WILL MAKE YOU!"**_

******NO**

___"CRUCIO!"_  
Scorpius remembered the curse, filling his body with liquid fire as he felt his fingers grip around the neck of Delilah and snap it like a stick. The pain ended and his father left him in his room to cry.

"Hey Scorpius." He looked up from the window and saw Rose smiling at him, leaning against the stone wall.

"Hellu," he muttered, wiping his eyes slightly.

"I guess you've met my charming cousin James.. I apologize for his behavior. Well lets get you to your house. The prefect might get mad that your not there but oh well just say that you were admiring the tapestry or something. I got away with that one my first year." He stood up and gave her a smile. He didn't really fell like talking right now, but he knew Rose was the only hope he had to finding the common room.

"Thanks, for uh, finding me." He smiled again and began walking towards her, ready to get this day over with. He paused for a moments and then hissed as he pressed his hand to his forehead. Tomorrow was sure to be better than today.  
"Okay, let's just go to bed..." They walked in silents, which usually would have irked Scorpius, but he welcomed it. They did, however, have the misfortune of having all the stairs changing right before they got there. On the second set, Rose groaned unhappily.

"The stairs must still be mad at me for pouring invisible tar on them as a prank." she chuckled. "I got James pretty good on that one on accident, my intended target was Crab and Goil." She nudged him gently and urged him to smile. Turning back to the stairs she clasped her hands together and began to plead.

"I've told you a hundred times already that I'm sorry!" Finally, as if her plea had reached their hearts, the stairs changed back and clicked softly in place.

"Thank you!" she cried happily as she jumped up and down for joy. They hurried up to the common room muttering the password, _Flying Buttresses_. Scorpius thanked Rose again and ran up the stairs to his dormitory. He quickly changed and jumped into bed, his body asleep before his head hit the pillow.


	3. Chapter 3: Mr Malfoy

**Chapter 3**

**Mr. Malfoy**

Scorpius felt the sun trickle on his face, the warm feel of morning light nudging him awake. He groaned and rolled over, burying his face into the sheets. He hoped his mother was still out cold and wouldn't think to send the house elves to wake him. Suddenly, his eyes shot open as he felt the cotton sheets against his face. ___These aren't __******my **____silk sheets, _he looked around the bright maroon and gold canopy, realizing this wasn't his green and silver one at home. Rolling over, he buried his face in the soft pillows. He was at Hogwarts. HE WAS IN GRYFFINDOR! Jumping up, he raced to get ready throwing on his uniform as quickly as possible. Fumbling with the gold and red tie, he finally looped it around his neck and buttoned his collar. He grabbed his bag and schedule, raced through the door, and jumped down the stairs two at a time. He spotted Lily and his grin broadened.  
"LILY!" He yelled, running up to give her a giant bear hug. "Isn't it a great day to be a Gryffindor!" His smile was wide and nothing could bring his day down! Lily laughed and hugged back, her mood seemed to be as giddy as his.

"Good morning Scorpius! Did you sleep well?" she asked, breaking off the hug. Scorpius beamed back and shouldered his bag, nodding vigorously in excitement. Lily laughed again and smiled.

"Come on, let's go and eat breakfast," she grabbed his arm and together they walked though the portrait hole. They made their way through the corridors towards the Great Hall, talking about the day ahead and what classes they would have together. To Scorpius' surprise, they only had History of Magic on Tuesdays and Thursdays and Flying Lessons on Friday together. He had been hoping they would be together for most of the day, but he would see her at lunch and breaks, right? They took a turn into the noisy hall and walked over to the Gryffindor table. When he reached the long table, he sat down and pulled the goblet of pumpkin juice closer to him. Taking a long gulp, he closed his eyes and smiled to himself. This was the way things should be. Good friends, great food, and a morning without the sound of his fathers...

He heard a shriek and looked up to see a flock of eagle owls flying directly towards him. He recognized Thesper, his father's owl, and Horan, his grandfather's, but the rest were a mystery. They landed on the table, each of them landing proudly in front of him and dropping red envelopes.  
"Oh...bugger." He picked up the first one from Thesper and tentatively opened it. Suddenly the booming sound of his father's voice filled the Great Hall.

___SCORPIUS DRACO MALFOY.  
DO YOU THINK THIS IS A JOKE? DO YOU FIND IT FUNNY TO NEARLY KILL YOUR GRANDFATHER DUE TO __******SHOCK?**_

He could tell this was going to be a long winded letter and took another swig of pumpkin juice.

___NEVER IN THE HISTORY OF HOGWARTS HAS A MALFOY SUNK SO LOW TO DESTROY HIS FAMILY'S NAME.  
YOU ARE A MALFOY, NEVER FORGET THAT. I AM DISAPPOINTED IN YOU, MY BOY, AND THERE WILL BE A FEW CHOICE WORDS FOR YOU WHEN YOU COME HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS. WE ARE ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED WITH YOU._

The letter stopped and then burst into flames, ash scattering over the top of the table. One by one he opened the red howlers, listening to the hurt and disappointment in every living relative.

His Father, Mother, Grandfather Lucius, Grandmother Narcissa, Aunt Daphne, Uncle Gregingon, Grandmother Amira, Grandfather Phoxeir, and one from Auntie Andromeda, which didn't happen to be a howler but a nice arrangement of sweets to congratulate him on being different.

When all was said and done, he looked at the rather large pile of ash on the table and sighed.  
"Hey Malfoy! Sounds like you should watch your back, even your father is after it!" Lynx Nott stood up from the Slytherin table and threw a large portion of oatmeal at him. It clung to his hair and face, as the other Slytherins laughed and patted Lynx on the shoulder.  
"What a wonderful day to be a Gryffindor." He muttered as he licked the oatmeal off his lips. He could have shrugged it off with dignity, could have walked out of the hall with his head held high, but Lily spoke up.

"Hey, knock it off. Just because Scorpius is in Gryffindor doesn't mean there is anything wrong with him. Besides, I think it's great he's not blindly following in family tradition. So, um, don't mess with him again." While he knew she was trying to be helpful, he could hear the gears clicking in Lynx's mind and knew his last shred of dignity had been severed. He nearly pulled Lily down, but the damage had already been done. He was now going to be teased for having a girl come to his rescue. It wasn't that he was angry at Lily for doing it, he was angry at himself for allowing it. Lily sat back down and smiled over to him.

"You should just come and stay with me over the holidays. I'm sure my parents won't care, and it sounds like your holidays won't be fun if you went back to your parents," Scorpius smiled and nodded. He didn't trust himself to say anything on the subject of his parents.  
"Sounds good." He cast scourgify on himself and stood up.

"I should go, I have Transfigurations." He grabbed his bag and walked out of the hall, just knowing that if he had stayed any longer he would have started to cry. Pausing outside the Transfiguration's door, he gathered his thoughts and pulled himself together. He wouldn't let his father get to him, he wouldn't give in to the pressure of being a Malfoy. He held his head up high and walked through the door.

Ӝ

Scorpius grumbled as he walked to Ancient Ruins. Not only had he found out his day was jam packed with advanced courses, but all of his classes were filled with Slytherins. His advanced Transfigurations had been atrocious and he was looking forward to another class filled with nothing but torture. Surprisingly though, he found Severus Potter and Aleksandar Donchev sitting in the back of the class. Well, it was a third year Slytherin class, but he hadn't expected to see people he knew. Taking a seat behind the two, he listened in to the idle chatter of the pair. It was mostly Severus talking and Aleksandar grunting in reply. It wasn't so bad, the teacher was glad to have someone that wasn't trying to butter her up. Scorpius had pulled through the class without having too many people bother him. He had barely noticed the bell ringing and was almost sad to walk away. Almost.

"Vould you be going to Arithmacy?" asked a gruff voice, and Scorpius turned to see Aleksandar walking next to him.

"Yeah, you too?" The dark-haired boy nodded and he began smiling, if only briefly.

"You haff many classes vith Slytherins. Must be... Difficult. But at least you vill haff two vith me," he fell silent again and the two boys walked without much change. Finally, Aleksandar broke the silence as someone ran past.

"You play?"

"Um, what?" Scorpius had been caught off guard by the question and didn't exactly know what the boy had meant.

"Quidditch. You play the game?" Aleksandar asked again, nodding towards the group of Hufflepuffs, who Scorpius assumed played.

"Yeah, Keeper. My dad wanted me to be a Seeker, but..." He shrugged as they reached the door to Arithmacy.

"Mh, I see," Aleksandar opened the door and ushered him in.

Ӝ

"Ah, and finally, Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Max," Scorpius whirled around to find the face of Emil Max glaring at him through the thick fog of the Potions classroom. _Could this day get any worse_, he thought as he stood up and walked towards the large grotesque form of the Slytherin third year. He was a brute, large meaty hands that seemed to ripple with muscle every time he moved and thick greasy black hair that fell into his charcoal gray eyes. Emil wouldn't have been a bad partner, hell he probably would have been an excellent minion had Scorpius needed one, but Scorpius was a Gryffindor.

And that meant he was royally fucked.

"So, little scorpion, looks like you crawled out from under your daddy's rock. How have you been?" Emil leaned forward and smirked as Scorpius took the seat farthest from the neanderthal.

"Fine, how about you Emil? Had any good proposals this year?" Scorpius managed to keep his voice from wavering in fear, but it took all of his might to stop his legs from quivering in fear. He knew Emil was tough, his brains may be a bit on the small side but the boy was blessed with build. Scorpius knew first hand since his father had made several "play dates" with Emil and his sister Chiara, who was a first year as well. Lynx and Lyra Nott also came around on several occasions so the parents could talk politics and the kids could become acquainted with each other as family. Scorpius' father had mentioned something about the Max and Malfoy family becoming one with the Nott family several times, but the plan fell through when Chiara and Lynx Nott were found kissing at a pure-blood family reunion and Lyra wanted nothing to do with either Scorpius or Emil. Emil blamed Scorpius for his loss of Lyra's interest and beat him to a pulp outside of Diagon Alley one summer day.

"Hey, Scorpion. Choke on this," Emil's voice broke through Scorpius' thoughts and a cloud of purple smoke filled the air. Scorpius stood up and tried to beat away the cloud, but the damage was done. It exploded all over the classroom.

"You don't add leeches to Memory Potions, Emil!" Scorpius shouted, the sticky mess all over his clothing and books. Emil just shrugged and tilted his head in confusion.

"I know that, it was your fault. You were supposed to be getting the ingredients." Just as Emil said that, Professor Maxwell walked by and sneered at the stick mess.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor for your lack of preparation. I expected better of you, Mr. Malfoy." Emil snickered and high-fived his Slytherin crones.

"Yeah, Scorpion, we expected better."

Ӝ

Walking by the hourglasses that told the house points, he paused to see just how many they had now. His jaw dropped.  
"Gryffindor has 30 points?" He stood in shock, willing himself to believe it wasn't his fault.  
"Oh look, poor little lion has lost his roar, maybe his little GIRLFRIEND can protect him!" Lynx cackled as he walked by, his Slytherin cronies in tow and joining him in the malicious comments. Suddenly, Scorpius wasn't hungry anymore and he ran back to Gryffindor tower.

Ӝ

Distract yourself, everything is better when you are distracted. Don't worry about your father, don't worry about your so-called friends, just take a deep breath and concentrate on Ancient Ruins. Scorpius opened his eyes and flipped open the big book on his lap, pages ruffling as the smell of new parchment hit his nose like a well-aimed spell. He loved this smell, a new book that was waiting for him to discover everything it had to offer. Curled up in the common room, surrounded by the cheery fire and rather off-putting red furniture, he felt that maybe something was going to go right this day.

"Scorpius! What are you reading?" Lily asked, coming around behind him and looking at the book. "Is that for a class? It doesn't look like it's any of the books I have for first year classes..."

He looked up from his book of ruins and smiled at her.  
"I'm reading the ruins assignment Professor Babbling gave us. It's rather interesting to translate." He held up the book so she could read it, but from the look of confusion on her face he realized she couldn't. He sighed and brought it back down to his lap as Lily walked to the armchair across from his and sat down.  
"I'm not in most first year classes. My dad taught me a lot and I took the placement tests at the beginning of the summer. I was thinking of dropping my potions for a first year class, but it's full." He sighed a little as he remembered the look on Professor McGonagall's face when he asked to be brought down from the O.W.L Potions Class to Beginner. She simply put that there was no way to fit it in his schedule if he wanted to keep his Ancient Ruins and Arithmacy classes. She did suggest dropping Astronomy and moving down from the O.W.L. level Defense Against the Dark Arts class in order to free up his schedule, but he liked everything except the bigot-filled Slytherin potions. So here he was, studying Ancient Ruins and looking into the crestfallen face of Lily. He wished he could be in more classes with her, but it wasn't in his best interest.  
"You know, I could help you study. I've gone through most of this before and I wouldn't mind seeing you more often..."

"I didn't know you were so smart! It'll be great if you could help me study," she said with a nod. "And it was nice of your father to teacher you all of that stuff." Scorpius held back a snort and smiled up at her.  
"Yes, yes I suppose it was..." He buried his nose back into the big book and sighed deeply. "I'm not very hungry, so I'll probably stay up here. Sorry." The truth was he was starving, but he couldn't face Lynx or the rest of the Slytherins right now. He grabbed his book and walked up to his bed, his stomach growling all the way.


	4. Chapter 3: Signs and Symbols

**Chapter 3.5**

**Signs and Symbols**

Alek woke up before the sun had even risen, looking around the room at his sleeping dorm mates. He stood up and grabbed his trainers, walking silently to the door. He quickly ran up to the entrance hall and out of the front door. The Hogwarts grounds were a little smaller than his estate, but the always held something different. Right now he was running by the giant squid, who was lazily gliding along the surface of the lake. He chuckled as he ran to the edge of the forest, hoping to catch sight of the Centaurs. Soon he made it back to the front door and walked back to the dungeons. He needed a shower, needed to eat, and then had to run down to the greenhouses for Herbology. Grabbing his shampoo, he walked to the shower room and closed the door.

_Let's see..._ he thought as he turned the water on and let the hot spray soak down his body. _I haff Herbology vith the Gryffindors, Ancient Ruins vith the Slytherins, Arithmacy vith... vell, vith whoever is taking it... usually Hufflepuffs, Divinations vith the Ravenclaws, and Potions vith Slytherins._ He grabbed the shampoo and massaged it into his hair, sighing at his luck. He only had two classes with Severus and they were not even core classes. He hoped their schedules at least allowed them to have lunch together. Finishing up, he stepped out of the shower and stretched himself out. He quickly got dressed, scowling at the state of his shirts. They were far too small and he hadn't had the time to buy new ones before the train ride. He sighed deeply and grabbed his bag, taking the steps four at a time and making his way to the Great Hall. The hall was nearly empty and he glanced at his watch. It was ten minutes to nine and he freaked out for a moment. He only had ten minutes to eat and race down to the Greenhouses which were about a good half a mile away. He shoved something in his bag for later and grabbed a piece of toast with his mouth from the nearest table, which happened to be Hufflepuff but nobody really cares about them. He then turned on his heal and raced down the hall towards the double doors leading out to the grounds. Alek ran down to the greenhouses, right behind Professor Longbottom. He took his usual seat closest to the door and settled down for another day at Hogwarts.

Ӝ

Alek raised his eyebrow slightly as Rose's best friend Mina kept looking over at him. Was she trying to get his attention or did she just like looking at him? Once class was done, Mina got up and walked right over to him. Was she asking him out?

"I'm sorry that your future is so sad and horrible," with that, Mina ran back over to Rose and left Alek confused and a little bit pissed off. _Who did she think she was, tell me she was sorry for my future... I don't even know about my future!_ He growled his was up to Ancient Ruins and slumped down in his seat until Severus walked through the door.

"Happy Birthday Alek," he said as he took his usual seat by Alek's side. Alek's frown deepened and he sighed. He was a whole year older, a whole year closer to this horrible future Mia (Mira?) had told him he would have.

"Mm, right," he managed to get out before slumping deeper into his seat. They both looked up as Scorpius walked into the classroom and took a seat behind them. Alek chalked it up to smarts and left it at that, he really didn't care why Scorpius was in this class.

Severus continued to talk about everything, mostly about meaningless things, but Alek loved to listen to his friend. He didn't talk much to anyone else and he always had something intelligent to say so the conversation was never boring. Before he even knew it, the class was over and he had to bid farewell to Severus. Scorpius was walking in the same direction as Alek's next class, so he took a stab and said in a gruff voice,

"Vould you be going to Arithmacy?"

Ӝ

Alek climbed up the ladder to the Divinations classroom, his mood slightly better from the morning. He had a lovely time in Arithmacy with Scorpius, who was quiet and liked to listen just like Alek so they got along perfectly. He wasn't going to up and go out of his way to talk with the little first year, but the classes they had together (Ancient Ruins, Arithmacy, and Potions), would be better for both of them. He took a seat next to a couple Slytherins he recognized and pulled out his text book, Unfogging the Future.

"Welcome, welcome my little does, so bright-eyed and bushy tailed," A misty voice broke through the thick perfumed room and a witch with frizzy hair and huge bottle glasses that made her eyes seem ten times bigger than they should have been. She was clothed in gauzy shawls, cloaks and bangles, all covered with shining sequins. She reminded Alek of a large bug and held back a laugh when he imagined her buzzing around the room.

"I am Professor Trelawney, master of Divinations. In here, you will see the past, present, and future of you and your classmates. Would anyone volunteer to have me read their palm to start the year off?" No one said anything, than the Slytherin next to Alek coughed and Trelawney swiveled to fix her eyes on Alek. He gulped and shot and evil look to the Slytherin, who just shrugged and mouthed 'sorry.'

"Mr. Donchev, ah the young Bulgarian heart-throb. Come, come, come!" She motioned for him to walk up in the front and stand next to her. She pushed her hair behind her ear and grabbed his palm with a little too much gusto. He watched her as she looked at his hand, her face pulling into a grimace as she traced the lines and mounds around his fingers muttering in her silky voice.

"My dear, you have the hands of Air and lightly defined lines, oh dear you cannot blame yourself for this, it simply means you cannot decided who you are. A star on the mount of Saturn, great success or distinction through some terrible fate. Oh dear, oh dear. A cross on the mount of mars under Jupiter represents force, violence and even death from quarrels. Child, my poor dear heart, I bleed for you! A Grille on the mount of mercury represents an unstable person, oh child you are destined to have a life a suffering, a hand like this... I have never seen, but had I the opportunity to read his, I am sure your hand would have matched that of... Lord Voldemort!"

He ripped his hand out of hers and felt his heart beat faster. Why was his life so horrible? He backed up slowly, his eyes never leaving the large bug ones of Trelawney. Grabbing his bag he quickly ran to the other side of the room towards the trapdoor that led down.

"Mr. Donchev! You should stay and learn more about how you can fix your life of suffering!" He whirled around and growled dangerously.

"I vill not suffer, it is you who vill SUFFER!" he tossed his Divination's book into the fireplace and stormed down the ladder, away from the sweltering heat of the classroom and raced off to someplace far, far away.

Ӝ

He stormed down the dungeon steps to his final class of the day, glad he would finish this horrible day quickly. He was ready to just sit back with Severus and joke their way through Potions. The professor bustled in late and quickly wrote on the board what they would be doing today. Alek looked around and spotted Scorpius looking uncomfortable by a greasy looking kid, but he couldn't find Severus anywhere. He stood up, something was wrong. Severus would never skip potions, it was his favorite class!  
"Mr. Donchev, where are you going?" The professor asked, all eyes turning to look at Alek. He didn't answer, but swept up his books into his bag and walked towards the door. He didn't feel like talking to another Professor about why he was storming out of their classroom and he just wanted to find Severus.  
"Mr. Donchev! Come back here!" Alek turned on his heal to shoot an evil look to Mr. Mazwell and then stormed out. He faintly heard the sound of ten points being deducted from his house, but he didn't care, Severus needed him. Wandering his way towards the hospital wing, he vaguely recalled the one time Severus had gone there and turned to walk back down to the common room. When he reached the Slytherin dorms, he walked up to the third-year beds and swung the curtains open to Severus' bed.  
"Hallu," he looked down at his friend and anger filled him. Bruises were all over his body and it took all of his strength to stay put and not drag his ass up to the hospital wing.

"Shouldn't you be in potions?" he asked. "And don't worry about me, I'll take care of everything once I've rested some." Severus pulled himself into a sitting potion. Alek raised an eyebrow and looked down seriously at his friend.  
"Me, not vorry? You are joking with me." He sat down next to his friend and placed a hand on his shoulder.  
"Vu did this?" He had a suspicious feeling that he knew who it was, but he didn't want to go after the wrong person. "Vas it James and his group of задник Quidditch players?"

"Yeah, it was James and some of his friends. I think they were all on the Quidditch team, they're at least the ones who always hang out with him." Alek nodded and got up from the bed. He wasn't going to do anything at this moment, he had homework and should probably go talk to the Potion's teacher about what they had missed in class. Right now, though, he was hungry and tired.  
"Should i go get food from the kitchens and ve can eat here?" Without waiting for a response, he walked out and towards the kitchens.

His mind was racing through things he could do to James for revenge. He could tie him up to the Quidditch hoops and watch him dangle, but knowing the jerk James was her would be able to levitate himself down. He made his way to the portrait of a bowl of fruit and tickled the pear. When he entered the kitchen, a dozen house elves greeted him and filled his hands with as much food as he could carry.

"We is hoping master Severus be feeling better. Noddy heard the news of his brother." All the elves nodded and dabbed their eyes with handkerchiefs. Alek nodded politely and thanked them before leaving to go back to the Slytherin side of the castle.

Alek walked back with a pile of food. He threw himself on the bed and handed half of it to Severus. He didn't feel like talking, so they ate in silence. When he finished, he stood up and stretched.  
"I am tired, vill you excuse me?" he smiled at his friend and walked to change for bed, the day had been long and terrible. He just wanted to end it and get on with his life.

There was no way anything could top this day in suck.


	5. Chapter 4: Love and Other Drugs

**Chapter 4**

**Love and Other Drugs**

Alek trudged to the Quidditch pitch as the Gryffindors made their way off. He could see James' face twisted in anger and he vaguely wondered if he had been cut. He rolled his eyes and crunched to the field, his broom in tow.

"Aleksadar! Excited for tryouts?" Dalin Zambini asked as he ran up behind the boy. Alek shrugged and gripped his broom tightly. He knew he wouldn't be cut from the team, he was one of the reasons they always won. Dalin was pretty good, Roxanne and Dominique Weasley were also talented players. Sasha, the keeper, barely let anything get past her, whenever they actually needed to block. Alek always caught the snitch, but gave the other teams' seekers plenty of time to spot the little golden ball and snatch their moment of self-fulfillment as soon as they did. The only exception was Gryffindor. Alek would always catch the snitch within the first five minutes of the game, just to spite James. It wasn't that he felt propelled to beat him on the sole factor that he was a Gryffindor, it was mostly because he was his best friend's brother who liked to beat him up. Alek wouldn't stand for that, so he would just wipe the floor with James. Mercilessly.

"Aleksandar, get your ass on the broom and fly!" Roxanne screamed as a bludger went whizzing by his left side. Grinning, he mounted his broom and took off, the wind whipping through his hair. Looking over the pitch, he noticed a total of two people trying out for the team, Wendell Du Lac and Kilana Flint. He knew they only needed a replacement for Zambini who was leaving next year and that was easy enough to find. If Slytherin had a surplus of anything, it was large-armed brutes who loved to hit things, so a beater was easy to replace. Everyone knew that Alek would take over being the captain as soon as Zambini stepped out of Hogwarts' grounds, so no one argued that he was only a Third Year.

After a couple warm-ups and drills, the team grounded and walked over to hang around Zambini who was conducting the tryouts.

"Here, have some water, I'm sure you're thirsty," a girl said and Alek whirled around to see Sasha handing out water bottles.

"It won't be good if you got dehydrated," she smiled sweetly as he gave a small smile to her.  
"Thank you." He opened up the bottle and took a long swig. Suddenly he felt an odd tingling through his body, starting from his toes and working up. His head grew foggy and nothing was in focus except for Sasha. Had she always been that pretty? Did his heart always beat as fast when she was around? Was he just too busy to notice the way her hair caught the sun like raven wings? When did he become so quizzical? Was he always asking so many questions or did he just become aware of that as well? Well, he didn't care if his head was full of unanswered riddles, he just knew one thing; he was in love with Sasha Maxwell.  
"Oh, um... Sasha, this may be a bit.. vell, a bit soon, but vould you mind terribly if ve vould begin to date?" What if she said no? What if she said yes? What if she was already dating someone else? He bit his lip softly, hoping the last question was not even possible.

To his relief, Sasha smiled at him.

"I'd love to date you Aleksander," she grabbed his hand and leaned in closer to her. His face broke in a huge smile and he snuggled into her hair.

"Donchev! Get your face out of Sasha's hair and get your ass on your broom!" Dominique shouted as she pushed through their little snuggle fest and shot a look of worry in Alek's direction.

"It's really creepy to see you smile so big, Aleksandar, almost like you're possessed or something..." Zambini muttered as he passed the boy, patting him on the shoulder. Alek tilted his head and frowned a bit. Why was his team so against his love for Sasha? There he went with the questions again, so many of them and so few with an answer. So sighing, he mounted his broom and took off in the air.

Ӝ

After practice he landed in front of Sasha and held out his hand for her to take it. She smiled and gripped his hand tightly as they walked through the grounds towards the castle. He barely caught Scorpius, Avania, and Hugo talking about study group.

"Sorry, I have detention tonight with Professor Maxwell," Scorpius said as they passed them. Alek didn't really care about other people, all he cared about was Sasha. He never felt like this before, this euphoric feeling was so intoxicating he couldn't escape. He never wanted to escape.

"Alek, how was..." Severus walked up to him, trying to pull him away from his darling Sasha. He avoided his eyes and turned Sasha in the direction of the common room.

"Let us go and be in loff," he muttered ignoring the hurt look that crossed Severus' face.

Ӝ

Alek loved being with Sasha. They would walk together, eat together, cuddle in the common room together, breath together, and he even shared a couple kisses with her. Sasha was his life, everything he had wanted and needed. Maybe this is what he was missing in his life, love. Sasha made him feel so comfortable about himself, all the things he hated she adored, and everything he was embarrassed about she would glorify. Sasha saw him for more than a really good Quidditch player or the scary boy who never smiled, she saw him for Aleksandar Monitque Donchev.

"Alek? Do you want to study with me?" Sasha asked as she leaned over him. Aleksandar flinched a little at her using the name Alek. Only his sister and Severus were allowed to call him that because... because he loved them. He loved Sasha, didn't he? It was okay for her to call him that then.

"Sure. Ve could go to the library, vould you get my bag and I'll meet you there?" She nodded happily and got up to grab their stuff. Alek stood up and walked in the direction to the library.

Alek gagged as something was shoved down his throat. He whirled around, trying to get the thing out of his mouth, but it was too late. He swallowed the thing and felt his stomach give a giant lurch. He felt sick and moved to attack Severus, who was looking utterly horrified at what had happened, but his body shook violently. He fell to the floor, clutching his stomach in pain and screaming in some incoherent Bulgarian. Finally, sweat plastering his black hair to his face, he looked up into Severus' face.  
"Vat... vat vos that?" Severus bent down next to Alek, relieved more than anything else. "It was a Bezoar. Someone gave you a love potion, a strong one, and that took care of it so you're not under it's spell any more," he explained. Alek nodded and smiled a little.  
"Vell, now that I haff my own vill again..." he stood up and slapped Severus on the back. "Thank you." He walked with his best friend, slightly embarrassed that he remembered everything he had done while on the love potion. Why did she do that to him, make him believe that he was in love and use him like that. He hated her, he wanted her dead for making him feel like this.

"I'm glad you're doing better," Severus said, "Oh, I have to do James' detention for him, so I won't be around much any night for a week," he told Alek. He shrugged again and smiled.  
"Vell, you are a better James than he is..." He laughed and trudged off to the library to do some much needed homework.Suddenly he remembered that Sasha would be waiting for him there and he turned to go back to the common room.

He fucking hated love.


	6. Chapter 5: The Goblet of Fire

**Chapter 5**

**The Goblet of Fire**

The days turned into weeks and the weeks turned into a month and finally the 30th of October came. Severus had been suffering from the late night potions homework, falling asleep in class, and the terrible looks Professor Maxwell had been giving him. Alek was a wreck, though he wouldn't show that to anyone, including Severus. He knew Professor Maxwell had it in for the Potter children, some unknown reason maybe a grudge. But it didn't matter, not really, except Severus was at the butt end of that grudge and Alek hated his friend in pain. So he continued his icy stare throughout their classes, anger seething through his veins.

They had decided to skip over the greeting of the other students in favor of getting a good seat at the Slytherin table. As soon as they sat down, Severus slammed his head on the table and almost passed out.

"Severus, you haff been sleeping at out times all this veek. Ven vill you be finished vith James' homvurk?" Severus just groaned as he buried his head deeper into his arms on the desk. Alek took that as a 'Not-as-soon-as-I-would-like' answer and glared over to the Gryffindor table, which James was strangely missing from. He growled under his breath and turned back to Severus, his worry growing all the more. Sighing, he pulled out his wand and muttered the energy spell under his breath so that Severus would have enough gusto to actually eat something. Severus sat up a little and smiled over to Alek, muttering thank you as the rest of the school filed into the Great Hall. When all had settled in some sort of seat, Professor McGonagall held her hands up for silence and stood up.  
"Welcome to Hogwarts, students of Durmstrang Institute and Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. We hope your stay here is both enlightening and rewarding and that the bonds of friendship between our three schools can grow and flourish." She paused for the polite applause and then cleared her throat again.

"Today is a historic day, where the three Wizarding schools once again unite to join in a time honored tradition of the TriWizard Tournament. To kick the ceremony off, I give you Montgomery Monimer, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation." A bright applause broke out as a young man with white-blonde hair stood up and bowed slightly. He looked a little too young to be head of anything, he had a boyish charm that surrounded him despite the huge title tacked to his name.  
"Thank you, now I know you are all excited and ready to see exactly what will happen this year. First, though, we must lay out those guidelines that the Ministry and your Headmasters have agreed upon. First that no one under the age of 17 is allowed to enter the TriWizard Tournament. Second, the tasks are dangerous and have been known to cause serious injury or death to those in this tournament, so know what you are getting into. Third, one champion from each school will participate and the winner will receive eternal glory and the honor of having the next TriWizard Tournament at their school. Now since we've gotten that out of the way, Mr. Lupin."  
He flung his hand back as a man with neon green hair and pure violet eyes rolled a large podium up, a box laying on top. When he reached the front, he pulled open the box and a gilded goblet sat with blue flames dancing from it.  
"If you wish to enter, put your name in the Goblet of Fire. Clearly write which school you are from and your full name on a sheet of paper and just... poof!" Monimer said with a chuckle as Teddy walked to take a seat at the table next to Krum.

"The cup will be available all day tomorrow and the names will be drawn at the Halloween feast tomorrow evening. Until then!" He sat back down and Professor McGonagall simply said, "Tuck in," and the feast began. Food appeared on the table and he noticed all of his favorite foods; Tarator, Shkembe chorba, Bob chorba, Moussaka, Gyuvech, Sarma, Black pudding, Banitsa, Tikvenik, Zelnik, Sirene, Kashkaval, and of course a giant bowl of Tulumba.  
"Severus! Look at all of this..." He trailed off as he filled his plate and began to eat. Everything tasted perfect and he could hardly hold back a sigh. The Durmstrang students looked over and suddenly one shouted in Bulgarian. _"Aleksandar! Is that truly you?"_ Alek looked up and smiled.  
_"You devil! It has been far too long since we've seen each other!"_ He stood up and gave the boy a giant hug.

"Severus, this is Nicola Mladenov. Nicola, this is my best friend Severus." He smiled as Nicola bowed and gave a curt, "Hello" in Bulgarian. Alek went back to eating and talking with Nicola and Severus, switching between Bulgarian and English so both would understand. However, it seemed that Nicola was looking elsewhere in the Great Hall. Nicola was gazing over to the table decked in gold and red, where a girl with long red hair was sitting. He turned to his brother, Anastas, and nudged him. Alek looked over at the two and raised an eyebrow in questioning, but turned back to Severus.  
"See that girl? Is she not pretty?"  
"Vell, I like her friend. The von vith the black hair?" His brother pointed to the girl she was conversing with. "I vunder vu they are..." Nicola then turned to Alek and muttered in a low voice "Who is the pretty little red head? " Alek choked back his pumpkin juice and looked over at Nicola.  
"Vat? You mean Rose Veasley?" Alek nodded towards the Gryffindor table and raised an eyebrow. "Vell, she is my running partner, ve run every morn so if you vant to talk vith her... She is also Severus' cousin." Nicola smiled to himself and began to hum a bit. Finally, he stood up and smiled at Alek.  
"I think ve need more Tulumba." He winked and walked in the direction of the Gryffindor table, even though the Tulumba was still nearly full. Alek rolled his eyes and turned to Severus.  
"I vould be careful on Rose and Nicola, while he is a good guy he has been know to be a... how you say... flirt? Mh, yes. He vill flirt." He raised an eyebrow to Severus and cracked a smiled. After a while of talking with Rose, Nicola walked back to the table, a broad smile playing across his face. He sat down and smiled at Aleksander and Anastas.  
"And that, is how it is done." He said running his hand through his hair again. Alek was a little annoyed with Nicola and it was clear that Anastas was as well. Alek knew, though, that Nicola was a very good brother, especially after their mother had died when Anastas was very young. Nicola was around 18 years old with thick brown hair that flopped into his brown eyes continuously. He was well built and he played the Chaser on Krum's 'A' team for Bulgaria. Alek of course was the Seeker for the team and as always had never lost a game. Anastas was just like his older brother, and even at the age of 15 he was tall. He had brown hair as well but his eyes were bright blue like their mother's had been and he refused to play Quidditch until he could beat Alek in a one on one Seeker challenge. So in short, never.

Ignoring the two brothers now, he turned to Severus who had once again placed his head on the table top.

"Vould you like me to bring you avay from the noise? Ve can go to the common room and ignore the rabble." Alek furrowed his brow as he thought about James' part in all of this and decided he would exact his revenge soon. Speaking of revenge, he looked over to see Sasha. After the whole love potion thing, he had just plain ignored her which was difficult to do since they were on the same Quidditch team. But he had given her the purple flower of regret and broke up with her, yet she still thought they could be something... He shrugged and turned his attention back to Severus. Severus shook his head.

"It's fine. I'm just tired, but I'm fine." _He'd just probably go right to bed once we do get back _Alek thought, and his frown deepened.

"My girl is calling." He grinned and sauntered out of the Hall without saying good night to Alek or Anastas. Alek shrugged as Nicola left the table to chase after Rose.  
"Ve should go to bed anyvay. You vill be able to sleep in tomorrow, maybe get a night of good rest, eh?" He stood up and grabbed his friend by the arm, helping him up. He didn't like seeing Severus so tired or vulnerable. He sighed and once again went to move for the door. Severus nodded.

"That sounds like a good idea." He didn't say much as they walked back to Slytherin, just yawned several times. Alek kept looking over at his friend, checking to make sure he was still following his lead to the common room and hadn't fallen into some stairwell. They walked into the room and Alek turned around to as Severus to study with him.

"I'm going to go to bed. I'll see you tomorrow," he said once they got back. He then went right to bed. Alek sighed, he would just have to do the homework himself...


	7. Chapter 6: Like Father, Like Son

**Chapter 6**

**Like Father Like Son**

The Great hall was filling up as students quickly ran to their house tables in anticipation. The food had been wonderful, as usual, but everyone was waiting for the main attraction: the Goblet of Fire. When it seemed that everyone was all but jumping out of their seats in prospect of what was coming, Scorpius sat still in slight confusion. James was sitting at their end of the table right between Scorpius and one of Lily's friends who he didn't catch the name of. James had just sat down and made no motion to explain his motives as to why. So Scorpius ignored him, prefering to talk to Lily and the rest of the little first year girls.  
Suddenly, the hall quieted down as Professor McGonagall stood up. Teddy was wheeling up the Goblet of Fire to the front and a wild grin was plastered on his face. Scorpius noticed that his hair was a bright bubble gum pink today and his eyes seemed to flash deep emerald. Finally the cart arrived at the staff table and he took his seat next to Monimer.  
"Students, the time has come for the drawing of of the Champions! When I call your name, walk across the staff table and enter the room at the end." The crowd clapped and suddenly grew quiet again as the cup glowed red and a piece of paper flew into her hand. She unfolded it and smiled.  
"From Beauxbatons, Antoinette Petit!" The crowd broke into wild applause, mostly from the Ravenclaw table where the Beauxbatons sat, as the Champion walked up to the staff table. She had long brown hair that flowed around her like a curtain of silk. Her eyes flashed over the crowd, violet in the candle light, and walked with her head up high into the other room. The Goblet once again glowed red and then another slip came out and McGonagall caught it.  
"From Hogwarts, Avanjolen Blake!" The Ravenclaw stood up, smiling down the table towards someone. Her hair was braided back and hung a little past her shoulders, blue eyes flashing over the crowd as she disappeared into the room. Finally the cup glowed once more and the last slip came floating into the professor's hand.  
"From Durmstrang, Nicola Mladenov!" He stood up, smiling over to Rose and running a hand through his thick brown hair before he disappeared into the room.

"Thank you all! Now, even if you were not chosen, we still invite you to stay with us and cheer on your champion! The point of this is to create unity and we are looking forward to..." The goblet glowed again and one more slip flew over into the hand of the professor.  
"Why does this ALWAYS happen." Her voice was tight as her eyes scanned the Slytherin table.  
"Albus Potter." Scorpius' eye whirled to the table and settled on the pseudo-blonde who had yet to look up. He noticed his friend tapping him on the shoulder and then the big green eyes looked up, sleep still misting them slightly.

Scorpius' mouth went dry. Severus had been called from the Goblet, Severus was going to compete. James stood up where he was.

"This is wrong! Albus can't do this! He's too young! Hogwarts already has a champion! It doesn't need another one! You can't let him compete! You can't!" Scorpius growled, James was making a fool of himself as usual.  
"Are you Sirius?" He said in a drawling voice, pulling down on James' sleeve. "He didn't do it, you prat. Someone else did it!" He looked over to see the gaunt face of Severus and for once he wished it had been James. Not that he would want any of them injured, it was just... He had come to like Severus a bit, they bonded over detention and he was easy enough to get along with.

James turned to Scorpius, glaring at him and taking the others grip off of his sleeve. He sat down, still glaring at Scorpius.

"Don't you think I know that? I'm not stupid. The fact that someone else did it is what bothers me. Someone wants my younger brother in a dangerous situation, and that is just wrong. Something is trying to hurt my brother, I have every right to be angry." He spoke in a harsh voice, not even trying to hide his worry or anger. Scorpius chose to ignore the prat and turned to look at Lily. She grabbed and held onto Scorpius' hand.

"They won't make my brother compete right? H-he's too young a-and he'll be hurt o-or killed," she said softly, panicking at the idea of her brother being hurt.  
"Lily, I...I don't think so, why... why would they I mean..." He turned to James and then back to Lily unaware of what he should say. So he simply decided to give her a giant hug.

"Lily, Albus will be fine. I'm sure he will." Scorpius shot an angry look at James. Of course he had every right to be angry, but the way he was taking this... it seemed almost... touching. Scorpius was a little jealous actually that Severus had a big brother to worry over him and that James, despite being a righteous git, was genially worried. Hugo walked over and placed a hand on Lily's shoulder. Avania followed Hugo over, clasped his hand with hers, and leaned her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes. Scorpius saw a faint splotch of red creep over Hugo's face, but chose to ignore it.

"Don't worry Lily he'll be fine. He has Rose, James, and Alek to help him. Those three together can help him through anything. Rose is a great teacher, she's been teaching me how to cast without speaking when I have the time. And he also has us." he said giving her a winning smile. "Right now he needs our support." Scorpius sighed as he pulled away from James to smile at Hugo.  
"Right, we're here for him and that's all that matters!" Rose walked over to James and said, "We need to talk. Somewhere private. I'll get Alek as well." Scorpius wanted to know what they were going to talk about, but he knew it was probably something about Severus and the tournament if Alek was involved.

"Hugo, Avania, watch after Lily for me. I'll be back soon." He glowered at James as he watched him leave. What about him? Wasn't he doing a good job being her friend?

Ӝ

"Alek we need to talk." Rose said motioning with her head over to a corner in the Great Hall. Alek stood. If anyone was going to help Severus the most, it was going to be Him. He walked over and took a piece of the wall, leaning against it and watched as Rose made her way to him. He thought it was just going to be them, but then James sauntered over.

"Hey, you had something to do with this, didn't you?" James asked Alek, nearly growling out his words. Alek noticed that James had his fists clenched and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"Vat, Potter? Going to hit me? I bet you vant a scar just like your father, I can help you there." He pulled out his wand and sneered over at James.  
"I told you. TOLD YOU, that something vould happen but you believed me not! I think you should listen to more than your own ego, Potter!" he growled and tried to break through Rose, edging closer to James. Rose stepped in between the two, standing her ground.

"James calm down," she kept her voice level, but there was some edge to it.

"You can at least settle your differences later, right now remain calm for Lily. I have a hunch that all of the Potter children are in danger. I was only calling you both over to talk to you about this." She turned to Alek and spoke once again,

"Alek. Severus is going to come out of that door at any moment. He's probably stressed out and come to the same conclusion as we have that someone is trying to kill him. Do you think that it would be beneficial in his state to see you two fighting?" Alek scoffed and sneered at the Gryffindor.  
"Severus has alveady left, I saw him go. If you two have nothing more to say to me, I vill take my leave of you both." He turned around, making sure to hit James,and stormed out of the Great Hall.

Ӝ

Scorpius looked at Lily as she once again began to talk wildly.

"I want to be able to help him, but I'm not sure I can do anything..." she looked down. She then put on a small smile. "I-I'm sure James and Rose and everyone will make sure nothing bad happens." She paused a moment. "You guys are going to come and watch all of the events with me, right? We have to support Severus." He turned to smile at Lily, even though his heart was aching slightly.  
"Of course, Lily... HEY! I have an idea, but..." he trailed off and smiled. He remembered seeing a rather large button in his father's study from the last TriWizard Tournament and distinctly remembered the word "Potter" glowing on it. Perhaps they could rustle them up and wear them around!

Lily looked at Scropius. "You have an idea? What is it?" she asked. He smiled and simply shook his head, lifted a finger to his lips and smiled.  
"It's a secret." She smiled a little, but her face fell again and she sighed deeply.

"You have a class with Severus, right? Can you tell him... tell him good luck and I'll help in anyway I can?" He frowned and gave her a reassuring pat.

"Of course, but I bet he would like it if you told him yourself. You should come by Monday before Ancient Ruins, it's right after History of Magic so I can walk you there." He smiled and hugged her once more.

"Oh! That's a good idea. I will come with you on monday to talk with him,"Rose sauntered over and sat down next to Lily, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"You okay Lily?" she asked, giving a gentle smile to her cousin. Lily nodded and smiled a bit over to Rose.

"I'll be okay. I'm worried about Severus, but there's nothing I can do right now. I-I just got to do what I can to help my brother," she said.

"Oh Severus will be more than fine. Now, I'm going to get some fresh air. I have a headache from hell." She stood up and rubbed her temples, walking out of the Great Hall. Scorpius looked over to Lily and stood up to stretch.  
"Well, I'm tired. Would you like me to walk you up to the common room?" he smiled lightly and held out his hand to her. Lily sighed and took the hand, looking over to Avania and Hugo.

"Good night you two." Scorpius looked over and saw Avania resting her head on Hugo's shoulder. He felt his heart lurch a little as he watched Hugo pull a strand of Avania's hair behind her ear. He shook his head and followed Lily out of the Great Hall and up to his bed in the Gryffindor common room.


End file.
